Abysmal Mind
by Shadow Snivy
Summary: Trapped in a forsaken building, living as an amnesiac, and hunted by a deranged, otherworldly beast. After finding peace in the cursed life of a mutation, my life falls down to this. Horror and the threat of insanity haunts every looming hour, but maybe I've already went insane. After all, there's madness, death, a blood lusting savage, and I can still hope? Am I already that lost?
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hello fellow story seekers! Happy April Fools! *Throws confetti* I've planned to make this story for a while, and originally it was going to be posted on Halloween, but instead I decided to do it today. This will be an enticing fanfic packed full of horror and mystery! Now, let me quickly explain why this is published today instead of on Halloween... just to clarify things a bit.**

**After thinking about random things, I realized that April is six months away from October. April Fools happens at the beginning of the month, and Halloween is at the end. April Fools has funny pranks, and Halloween has scary pranks (or at least it's like this in the US). See what I'm getting at? April Fools and Halloween are opposite in more ways than one, and they're placed so we can have a pranking day every half-year! And why should I copy others and make something comical when I can do the exact opposite, and be a little more original?**

**If this still doesn't make any sense, then eep, sorry****. I wanna do a scary fanfic! I also decided to choose four characters from my other stories and put them into this (this has little to nothing to do with the other stories, I'm just stealing the characters, so it doesn't matter if you read them or not). What happens to a character in this story doesn't affect them in their other story, I'll make the characters act very differently, their lives in this might be a complete change compared to their original story, so I'll do whatever I please! I hold the keyboard! :3**

**I mentioned in my most recent Thunder and Ice chapter that two certain characters will show up in this. They will, but not within the earliest chapters… but they'll come soon, and they have very important roles!**

**This title, "Abysmal Mind," is from Annihilator5026. This originally was going to be called, "Mental Abyss," but I recently found out that Mental Abyss is a real book and also about horror, so I wanted a new title... thanks Annihilator!  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.**

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Darkness; there was an infinite, eldritch void that stretched in all directions without a single change. I wasn't sure if there was a floor, yet I stepped lightly along with a dazed, pounding mind. Only one thought could arise throughout the bleak and instinctively-terrifying walk. _Where am I?_

As if randomly shoved through the surreal obscurity, a round, cheval mirror was pulled into sight. I advanced forward, knowing it was a hint for discovering where I was. The frame was smoke white with tiny crystals embedded in it, and they shimmered as if light was glaring directly down on them. The glass resembled an unstained sheet of clear, glinting ice, which shined brighter than the crystals in its frame. Once I came closer I saw that, instead of utter darkness, the mirror reflected dazzling rays of white light. My thin form came in the center of the ghostly, pale glass, and my appearance contrasted in the mirror like the ground and sky.

I stared at the glinting surface in both awe and terror; despite its flawless appearance, it made my mind rampant and restless. The way it was placed in the middle of such an enigmatic area made a shiver creep beneath my scales. My gaze then locked on my reflection rather than the mirror, meeting my icy-blue stare.

My form was of a short, bipedal reptilian that reached less than half the mirror's height. I had a tail representing a large leaf with three, dull tips. My head was teardrop shaped and two leaf-like appendages sprouted from my shoulders. Nothing appeared abnormal with my shape; one momentary glance and you'd think I was a regular snivy. If someone looked for more than a couple heartbeats, however, they'd see the scarring reminder of why I was so _despised._ My scale colors were a horrifying, monstrous combination, and my eyes were as cold as the scientists who mutated me.

The rare glimmer to my scales didn't remain; unless I mentioned something, no one would discover I was a shiny snivy during early life. The turquoise color of my scales was then transformed into wicked black. The ebony started from the tip of my nose and arched behind my head, trailed down, and engulfed my tail with the color. The yellow curl around my blue eyes was instead violet. The toxic hue then stretched down to the back of my neck, stained my leafy shoulders, and spread down as a slim stripe till it ended on my dark-shaded tail. A normal, creamy underside had become a paler shade of purple; it stretched downwards and ended near my little, stubby feet.

I grudgingly leered at the reflection. My puzzled thoughts were instantly replaced with anger-driven ones, since I was cruelly reminded of my dark past. _Out of everything that'd show up, why is there a mirror? _I thought bitterly.

_**Good question.**_

The gravelly and deep voice caused a strange iciness to surge in my bones. Those chilling words made the mirror's light vanish and I was stabbed with fresh horror. Cracks formed along the edges of the shadowy glass, and streaked across the fragile surface at striking speed.

It didn't seem possible, but my empty surroundings had somehow darkened. _**It's a symbol, **_the voice venomously continued. _**Yet mirrors can be very, very symbolic Shadow. The meaning right now, however… is a demonstration of one's sanity. **_

_It knows my name? _"S-Sanity?" I feebly stammered.

A pair of slanted eyes brightened through the darkness. They were practically pools of crimson, and I couldn't bring myself to look away. _**Yes, sanity. Sometimes a Pokémon has a powerful conscience, or they can remain sensible with such ease. Yet all it takes is a simple, careless mistake, and everything can shatter right before your eyes. **_A daggered claw of ivory became visible and pointed at the broken mirror. I noticed the beast's claw was stained a color exact to its bloody eyes.

I tried to appear as if I had some backbone but it was useless; I was filled with suffocating fear from the revolting creature. "Who a-are you?"

A crude smile flashed from beneath its red eyes; its teeth were brutally jagged and a hazy yellow. I hoped desperately that the fiend would hurry to the point. _**Me? **_Its cackle was scratchy and earsplitting. _**I thought you would remember friend! After all, I can name any part of your tragic past without hesitation, and you can't even remember my name?! **_Its voice was rising, almost like the beast's animosity was slowly building up. _**Let's see… hmph, you are horribly mutated for one thing. Your parents hate you. No one saw you as unique before the mutation, even though everyone else would see shininess as a special quality. But no… in Pinwheel Forest, they saw shiny Pokémon as a sin. It's like a sign from Arceus... that you're a cursed, Giratina spawn!**_

"N-No," I whimpered. "Stop it."

It showed no sign of hearing my plea. Its glinting claws moved around quickly, indicating that the creature was pacing. _**And then you were trapped in a human cage; you were helpless and your parents had abandoned you. The scientists that trapped you eventually shipped you to the Sinnoh region, because the Sandgem Lab was investigating shininess… yet these scientists tried to distribute it, almost like a sort of product. They conducted ghastly experiments that made you the way you are! A black and purple, cold-blooded mutation… your shiny quality was extracted, your scales changed color, and the scientists had failed to receive the shininess properly. But it didn't end there, now did it?!**_

"S-Stop…!"

_**Then they tried it again; they were confident there was some shiny aspect that still remained under your scales, even though you didn't appear like a shiny anymore, but they had failed again! Somehow they gave you the moves Shadow Claw and Cross Poison, despite how impossible and absurd it seems. Yes, this gave everyone another reason to despise you furth-!**_

"Shut up!" I hissed. Its rapidly moving claws stopped for a moment and its gory eyes glared at me. I refused to stutter because of it. "Describing my past isn't doing anything for you! Is this in spite of me? Are you tormenting me for your entertainment?! Last time I checked, I've never talked to any chaotic, blood-stained beast in my life, so-!"

Its bloody eyes appeared to glow. The crooked fangs coiled into a snarl, and an infuriated growl seemed to shake our crepuscular surroundings._** Don't you dare say it like that! You're acting like **_**I'm **_**the only monster here! **_Three of its crimson-smeared claws pointed at me, silently confirming what the creature had meant. Then its teeth twisted upward to form another gruesome smile. The beast decided to continue where it left off, except this time there was a bit of mockery in the tone; it was like the beast enjoyed to see me pained.

_**The scientists were convinced that you were no longer shiny. But, since you knew two strange yet strong moves, they decided to keep you as a battler. They even wasted an Iron Tail TM, and trained you till your fourth move was Leaf Tornado. Then, a couple weeks later, you managed to escape. Even though it seemed like paradise to be free, the wild Pokémon spoke of you with disgust and foreboding. **_I wanted to interrupt, no matter how intimidating the creature was, but my mouth felt plastered shut. I could only listen on. _**You traveled and traveled… until you found Dusk Forest. The Pokémon weren't judgmental, you've learned to like your unique appearance, and started to treasure your two strange moves. Do you remember what happened next?**_

As it muttered the question, its tone fell surprisingly soft. I was about to glare at the beast, because it'd silently explain my mouth was immobilized, until I realized the pressure latching my jaws had lifted. So instead, my face wrinkled in confusion, and I reluctantly choked out my words. "I still live there… a-and that's it."

_**Wha- That's it?!**_ I was buffeted by a numbing, powerful gust and skidded back a couple tail lengths. _**You truly remember nothing, do you?!**_ The forgotten mirror's frame shook violently by my side, and crumbled into marble white dust. _**You don't remember your destruction?! What you've done just **__**days**__** ago?!**_

My arms started to tremble again; it was too difficult to disguise my fear any longer. I felt myself slowly shrinking away from the bloody glare and rotting fangs. The creature was accusing things that I didn't know about; I had been nice ever since I moved to Dusk Forest, and if I truly did something so evil then I would've remembered. _**It's why we're here! We're in your unconsciousness because of what you did, and you're not even going to apologize?! **_Its teeth flared a horrifying snarl, and lethal claws were treading on the darkness; the monster was striding over to attack.

"N-No… stop! I don't know what you're talking about!" I didn't want to cower, nor sound like scared prey, but those daggered teeth were about sink deep into my scales. Fresh blood would darken its fangs, and the creature was obviously too strong for me to battle. I curled up in a tight ball, shut my eyes tightly, and braced for the hit.

My eyes snapped open from hearing its anguished cry. The beast had collapsed and was breathing in ragged gasps; anger was somehow visible in those bloody eyes. The beast had come close enough so I saw an outline of its form; it was a quadruped creature, and it reminded me of a canine, but that was all I could take note of. It quickly forced itself to its paws and showed an unnerving snarl. _**If I could kill you now then I would... **_Its voice had shifted to being more grisly and vile than before. _**I'm too weak now, because of what **__**you**__** did… but when I finally regain my energy, I will enjoy every heartbeat of your savage death! **_The crimson eyes and yellow fangs started to fade. _**Hmph, you're waking up it seems.**_

The canine gained a cold smile that gradually widened as it neared me, but doing so caused its form to flicker away. _It can't touch me, _I realized. _Whatever happened to this creature, probably from what it has accused me of, will prevent it from hurting me. _As the canine faded away, it mumbled some departing words.

_**You'll see me soon enough with your blood on my claws, Shadow. When my power returns you'll have no chances… you are not the first that I will have killed.**_

_**Welcome to the Crimson Hotel. Enjoy your stay.**_

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**A/N: Yeah, I know it might seem a bit confusing so far, but I hope you can just stick with me. And that last part, about the Crimson Hotel, doesn't mean this will be about Pokémon like in the PMD's when they act human-ish. This is the world when they act like animals, have trainers, etc.**

**If you don't understand Shadow the Snivy's appearance very well, go look at my profile picture and you'll see him!**

**Crimson Hotel and Dusk Forest was created off my imagination; if these places exist in games or reality than it's purely by coincidence.**

**Thanks if you decide to follow along. :)**


	2. Crimson Hotel

Abysmal Mind

Chapter 1: Crimson Hotel

My eyes shot open from a boom of thunder. I took a moment till I rose to my feet, because a wave of disorientating soreness and confusion had washed over me. Darkness was everywhere, and before my vision adapted to it, I already feared the unfamiliar area.

The floor I had been sprawled against was gravelly and frigid. That was all I could perceive until my nocturnal sight settled in, and then I confirmed being somewhere new. The rough surface that scratched my scrawny, mutated self was shady gray concrete. I was in an odd corridor; a hall stretched behind me so its end was veiled with shadows, and the other way was blocked with two, slanted doors that were partially sustained off the ground. The walls on either side were lined in widely separated, wooden shelves that carried dusty barrels resting on their sides. The ceiling had rectangular lights dangling off them with severely cracked glass, signaling that they wouldn't flicker on even if electricity was provided. Overall, the place appeared abandoned.

I instantly realized I was in a human-built place. My memory served a name; the corridor was called a wine cellar. It clicked to my mind as if automatic, and it was mystifying. My thoughts provided other names earlier while I surveyed the surroundings, so that explained how I knew terms such as 'concrete' and 'barrels'. I never entered in a wine cellar before, and had rarely set foot near those peculiar, towering structures that lay in human civilizations, so it was awfully perplexing. The fear from being in the unfamiliar place was already worrisome, but comprehending humans when I never did before was downright terrifying.

Something clicked in my mind again; those structures were called buildings, and human civilizations were called towns, or cities. My fright allowed my thoughts to run hectic, and when I thought something along the lines of "how could this happen", my questions were then replaced with remembrance of a certain nightmare. I recalled the emptiness, cracked mirror, bloody eyes…

Each sinister moment was infesting my thoughts. The way the memories flashed forced me to slam my back against a barrel-adorned wall; my hand pressed against one side of my head, and I tried to calm down my sudden, panicked breathing._** Welcome to the Crimson Hotel. **_The unclear image of the monster rolled into my thoughts and refused to leave. I swore that I felt hot, rancid breath on the back of my neck, but when I whirled around there were only barrels and shelves. _**Enjoy your stay.**_

As quick as a ninjask, my fear substituted with anger. _You can't make me stay, _I stubbornly thought. I stared at the cellar doors that definitely lead outside – I knew that due to my frightening recollections. If I just pushed the doors open and crawled out, I'd be free from the creature's torment. Too eager to escape, I hastily propped myself up on shadowy vines, one sprouting from each shoulder, and used my hands to try and shove the dusty doors open. The pang noise of rain pelting down was easy to hear, and the wind whistling and howling on the other side encouraged me. Eventually, however, I decided to give up, frustrated from how the doors refused to budge.

My vines retreated back into my purple shoulders and I took a few steps away from the cellar doors. _I won't stay trapped._ Silver light shimmered off my tail from the corner of my eyes, and its edges quickly sharpened so it turned into a metallic, leaf-shaped blade. I ran a few steps forward and leapt into the air, did a quick turn, and gouged the Iron Tail into the wood. _I'll be free in a mome-_

I let out a squeaky yelp and plummeted against the concrete, clutching my stomach in pain. My hardened tail instantly went soft and curled so a tip trembled by my twitching nose. Searing, trenchant pain surged in every muscle. My heartbeat throbbed in my ears, and I could only lay there wretched till the pain subsided. Even when it did dwindle away, I refrained from moving sometime longer, afraid of the agony returning. Eventually, as I did return to my feet, I realized how severely my state had been weakened. A dull heat still drifted in my bones, and I knew it'd become tearing again if I wasn't too careful.

I fixed an unsteady gaze on where I attacked the cellar's exit, barely noticing splintered wood; my mouth fell ajar from bafflement. _That's it? How? _The monster's chilling voice resonated in my head once more, and I couldn't help but tremble. _Am I… really trapped?_

Instantly I felt crestfallen. "I can't be stuck here," I whispered anxiously. My thoughts raced back to that burning pain, and there was no doubt in my mind that it was the monster's cause. It felt odd to think of it like that: monster. Some monster was loathing me, yearning for my blood. Some monster probably _cursed_ the building, so I was locked inside with slim chances of escape. It was all too absurd to believe, but it was true. _Right?_

For a short moment, everything felt calm. I unintentionally focused on the pitter patter of rain pelting against the unmoving cellar doors. The strange peace didn't last. My fear doubled so suddenly that I felt a need to scream. All I wanted to do was cry out for anyone who might've heard, for help and explanations, but I recovered self-control before I could do so. _I need to calm down_, I thought, _before I do something I'll regret_.

I sharply moved my quivering hands to each side of my head, cautiously placed my back against the shelves once more, and slid down until I sat lightheaded on the concrete. I mentally told myself to ease up, but my emotions had only intensified; starting to angrily seethe the words 'just calm down' over and over. It went on like that for some time – not confident on how long – but it somehow did ebb my fear and worry away.

_Now what? _I weakly glanced at the cellar doors, and then my gaze turned down the corridor as much as my vision permitted me. I had to escape somehow, and I clearly wouldn't find an exit in that forsaken cellar. Even if I tried to break down parts of the building, I knew I'd just experience the searing pain and injure myself again. I had to look around, to find some exit before the monster regained its strength and attacked. That meant I had to trek through the rest of the building… _**Enjoy your stay.**_

I was cleansed thoroughly with fear, but I managed to keep my breathing leveled as I cautiously walked down the deserted corridor; the monster's presence lingered. The loud tapping of the rain mellowed out as I proceeded away, and I probably would've been stumbling about if my nocturnal vision never settled. My terror felt like it doubled over and formed a ball of ice in my stomach, and it stayed like that till, somehow, I started adjusting to the atmosphere. It was absolutely desolate besides barrels and barrels stacked on numerous shelves. The monster had trapped me, but there was surely a way out. That last thought was the only thing that comforted me.

The corridor was soon stretching in two directions. The cellar doors leading outside were hidden in the gloom, and my tiny, violet feet were already aching from the unnaturally rough ground. As I walked further, a stifling musk from the lack of fresh air had strengthened. Untouched dust continued to collect on the barrels and shelves, adding to the suffocating atmosphere. I adapted to it partially, and I tried to let the silence soothe my shaking instincts, but you could only relax so much in that foreign, nerve-wracking place.

Barely anything varied in that musky corridor. The only thing that was worth taking notice about was how the hallway suddenly bent ninety degrees, and it dully continued in a new direction. It was possible to say the lack of action turned the place creepier; it really made me expectant of something horrible to pop out. Especially since that wicked beast was lurking around… in some sort of invisible form, using supernatural methods.

A sprawled, purple creature, around half my size, creepily revealed itself in the center of the corridor; it took what felt like heartbeats to observe all of its features. A dim, red liquid scrunched up by the rodent's stomach, and it remained plastered to its fur and the surrounding floor. The tan underbelly was tainted with blood and scum, with splotches of bone white skin showing where fur had been torn out. As I stepped closer, I saw that the creature's eyes dimmed from the absence of life, the whites were a disturbing yellow-black, and they almost seemed to be rotting. The rattata's back also twisted at a sickening angle.

I grimaced but didn't look away. I was adjusted to Pokémon carcasses, due to many inhabitants of Dusk Woods being carnivorous. Yet something was still revolting, and it was about the kill being in vain. I knew that based off of common, predator logic. The attacker went for the stomach, and since that wasn't an immediate kill, it meant the attacker wanted a suffering death for the victim. None of the meat was clawed out for a meal; there were three, gouging bites created by lethal fangs in the torso, but it was only that. On occasions, I scarfed down portions of prey, but it was for the meat my predator instincts craved. Whoever slaughtered the creature had done it for, most likely, the thrill of bloodshed.

Maybe the killer did it in sake of territory, but whatever owned the size of teeth that left gaping, gory wounds couldn't have been threatened by a measly rat. My thoughts then returned to how the meat was entirely wasted, and how wrong it all was. The image of the blood-stained fangs from that monster then flashed in my mind's eye. An icy jolt was creeping up my spine, and I was momentarily stunned by the idea. The monster wanted the rattata's death to drag out so horribly. Maybe that beast stayed around and watched; a squirming, squealing rodent that struggled until it exhausted of all energy.

However, the kill was old with crusty blood, so it wasn't like the beast had killed recently. It was hard to keep reassuring thoughts like those, especially since I could've ended up like the poor creature within minutes, but some ideas did distinguish my fear. There weren't any scents either; they could've been blocked out by the musk, though, and my sense of smell wasn't that powerful. _ Just move on,_ I demanded myself. _Nothing more to see here. It's just stalling you._

After cautiously stepping past the demised rattata, I trekked further down the indifferent hallway. There was a slope of cement, and several angles were precisely sculptured in it. It then led up to a weak, wooden board that was against the concrete walls. At that moment, the odd, clicking sensation in my brain occurred, and I knew the slope was called stairs and the wood wall was another door.

The abrupt memory startled me for a moment, but I refrained from mulling around and moved determinedly towards the stairs. It felt abnormal to climb up the rigid, tough steps, but I shrugged it off by thinking it was a weird kind of hill. I gained a few scratches from the clumsy way I climbed it, but it wasn't anything worth groaning about. Then, when at the top step, it felt like the chill and musk had eased up. It was surprisingly more comfortable; cozy, even.

There was a slit between one side of the door and the cement wall. I reluctantly pushed against the wood, and the door creaked open to widen the slit. In between the wall and the door, I could make out a large, eerie, and dusty room, filled with odd furniture that didn't resonate a name to my head right away. I pushed the door more so there was enough space to walk through, and entered the next area.

A rush of wind exploded from the still air of the abandoned building, and I staggered back behind the rotting door, my fright beaming its return. No one appeared before me through the slit, but I could sense a masked presence beside the door. The familiar, scrappy voice crooned out, and I thinned the slit till my fingers were nearly crushed by the door and wall. _**Welcome to the Crimson Hotel, Shadow… **_The door abruptly blew shut, trapping my fingers as I tried to resist screaming. _**…Enjoy it while it lasts.**_


End file.
